Brand New Lover
by The USS Ficcelsior
Summary: Odette really knows how to rock out.
"ZOMBIE MEAT GOOD. HUMAN MEAT BETTER."

\- The Butcher

"Ooga booga Roman I'm gonna spook ya."

\- Bray Wyatt

* * *

Hordes of undead dissolved into dust at Velvet's feet. With each lash of her chains, another dozen of the ghouls exploded into pieces and cleared more of the path toward her goal. It was held up on a pedestal of skulls, emitting an ominous aura that seemed to control all of the undead around it.

Her half-sister didn't finish the job. Gwendolyn had only laid Odette's physical form to rest when she came to rescue her fair Oswald. Odette's malicious spirit remained in the malformed phozon, and Velvet had to act before the queen regained her power.

She threw her chains around two zombies, bisecting them both as she pulled her arms together. She twirled through another verse in her dance of destruction, laying waste to every undead in her path. Until one of them cracked a tibia over her head.

"Hughrn!" Velvet proclaimed most defeatedly as she crumpled to the ground.

The undead took to a moment to gather their strength, mourn their fallen brethren, and reattach a few severed limbs. Then they turned toward the one who had invaded their kingdom. They stood over the sleeping battle-witch, murmuring hideous things that could only come from beings of the netherworld.

"Bro. Hey bro. What should we do with the chick, bro?"

"Maybe we should decorate the palace with her intestines."

"Let's make her into human soup!"

"She wants Queen Odette's phozon so badly, I say we give it to her."

And so it was agreed upon. Two and a half pairs of decrepit hands pulled away Velvet's veil to uncover her forehead. One of the dead took the gleaming phozon from its pedestal and held it just over her brow. The jagged edge came swinging down like an executioner's axe, crunching through her glabella and planting a crystal flag deep into her mind.

Velvet screamed as she was violently overtaken by Odette's presence. Her body twisted and arched on the ground as her skin turned icy blue. The ends of her nails grew gnarled and black as her hair turned white. She was turning into a proper queen of the dead.

Odette rose up in her new vessel, wiping away the small trickle of blood from between her darkened eyes. Velvet was gone, leaving nothing but an empty shell for Odette to inhabit.

* * *

The heroes tried—and failed—to defeat the resurrected queen. Zombie sentries had taken them prisoner and kept them in line while Odette passed judgment.

The once grotesque crystal housing Odette's soul had been filed down into a small bindi on her forehead. Her royal attire was comprised of a form-fitting violet blouse and a long open skirt. A chain of bones was coiled around her bare waist. It was Velvet's dress with Odette's colors and decorative trim.

Cornelius was the first one she gazed down on. He looked heartbroken and lonely, like a rabbit that had lost all of its carrots. She felt a familiar sense of pity for the poor creature.

"Let the Pookah return to the rest of his kind. He has no grievances with me."

She was not so merciful when she turned toward Gwendolyn.

"You'll stay in the dungeon until I see fit," she said bitterly. "You destroyed my original body, so now I'll make yours slowly go rotten."

Oswald tried to push his way through his undead captors. One of the guards drew an ancient sword from its dusty sheath to protect the queen.

"Damn you, Odette! We'll never let you win!" said Oswald.

Odette seemed humored by the outburst. She calmly waved her hand to keep her men at ease.

"Oswald. Oh, my dear Oswald," she said as she came closer. "Why can't you accept that you belong to me?"

She brushed her palm against his cheek. An ambiguous smirk crossed her lips.

"Not that it matters," she said in a steamy breath. "This woman's flesh will be the perfect conduit to draw out your true nature."

Pure evil seeped out of Odette's fingertips. Oswald lost control of his will, growling like a desperate, feral beast. His demon half forgot about Gwendolyn, forgot about even trying to be human, and starved for the power only Odette could grant him. He seemed to fight against himself as he stretched his neck forward, bringing his lips closer to Odette's. He was almost close enough to kiss her.

Odette moved her hand away from his face, and his senses abruptly returned. He looked horrified by what he had almost done, turning his head away from Gwendolyn in shame. If one small touch could have such a dangerous effect on him, there was no telling what more prolonged contact could do.

"Relieve the soldier of his armor and take him to my bedchamber," said Odette. "I shall parley with him in private."

The zombie guard's sword slid firmly into its sheath. Odette made a small swaying motion with her hips. A chill ran down Oswald's back.

The prisoners were led out of the chamber, doomed to their respective Hells.

* * *

Not included in this fanfic: Provocative dialogue and squishing noises.

* * *

Mercedes found herself in the deepest part of the underworld. Queen Odette sat just before her, biding her time with her banshee handmaidens.

"Are you lost, child?" Odette said as a thinly veiled taunt. "We don't get many fairy visitors in the Netherworld."

"I know exactly where I am!" Mercedes answered back. "I'm here to put all of your schemes to an end!"

Mercedes aligned the sights of her crossbow on the queen's jeweled forehead. Odette chuckled at the gesture.

"Oswald, silence this buzzing little fly for me."

A black portal opened on the ground between the two queens. Odette's loyal Hell Knight levitated up from the depths. Consumed by carnal madness, his armor was as mangled and tainted as his soul.

Mercedes aimed at her new target. Oswald charged toward her, gliding swiftly and silently over the misty ground. Odette leaned back and watched the spectacle with greedy eyes.


End file.
